TRADE union Unison has called for further hospital closures in Glasgow to be postponed amid concern staff are "firefighting" at the new hospital.

 

Following a meeting of stewards, the union has asked health board NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to halt the transfer of services from the Western Infirmary to the South Glasgow University Hospital this weekend.

They also want to see the shift of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children from Yorkhill into the £842m facility next month delayed, saying they are receiving "daily reports" which suggest patient safety is being affected.

This decision follows reports of ambulances lined up waiting to transfer patients to staff, patients waiting for hours on trolleys in the accident and emergency department and teething problems with the building itself such as sticking doors and water running at the wrong temperature.

Some insiders have even said the staff canteen has insufficient capacity.

While stressing that Unison supports the new building, regional organiser Matt McLaughlin said: "At the moment it feels as though people are fire fighting and what we are looking for is a planned, strategic approach which delivers a safe service for patients and staff."

He added: "We need to have confidence that patient safety has not been compromised."

The union has called for an urgent meeting with managers "to ensure that staff, managers and patients can work together in a planned and structured way". Mr McLaughlin added: "In approaching it like this we can ensure that concerns over patient safety, robustness of services and basic health and safety concerns are €Å½resolved."